Leofwine_draca This cheap Italian rip-off of THE TERMINATOR is better than most as it has a fairly complex storyline, fun acting and special effects, and more action than you would expect from a film of this type. Although it's very low budget, it's a lot of fun, although hardly anyone seems to have heard of it, and it's not in any of the reference books I have. There are three major chase sequences through the film, the first with Nero running barefoot and getting his feet ripped up (kind of like Bruce Willis in DIE HARD), the second a well-choreographed truck chase with a nice explosion at the end, and the final run from the TERMINATOR-inspired alien villain. All of these moments are exciting and there are a couple of gunfights and punch-ups involved too.The rest of the film usually has Nero travelling somewhere or talking to somebody, and these are the typical filler moments. I thought it was going to be pretty boring and at the start it was, but don't worry, it soon picks up into a fun cheapo film. The plot involves lots of government organisations and a buried spaceship which is pretty cool, and in the last twenty minutes the aliens make their long-overdue appearance, which is also a blessing. The 'alien terminator' is pretty funny, a guy with curly hair and a red shirt who nonchalantly walks down your local street carrying a machine gun! The makeup effects for when half his face is ripped off (just like in THE TERMINATOR) are, while low budget and crude in the extreme, imaginative, and I love the way his eyeball moved around with a whirring noise.With some brief topless women and cheap, synthesiser-like music added into the brew, this keeps the attention fairly well, helped by the performances of Franco Nero as the cool writer hero who spends most of the film running around (he looks a bit like Richard Dreyfuss in JAWS) and showing off his chest hair, like Burt Reynolds. George Kennedy has a small role as a chuckling villain and the rest of the cast are adequate, with the exception of the hilarious actor playing the terminator guy, who lifts his hands in a fighting style when he meets a bull! It's a riot. The only reason I wouldn't like this film was the atrocious sound quality and bad, jumpy, faded washed out picture, but that's hardly the film's fault is it? TOP LINE is a nice little picture which comes across as something of a minor gem. Watch it and see why.

Rainey Dawn This one is beyond awful and boring!! I watched it in fast-forward!! A bunch of rich white people sailing on boats and in offices for about 20 minutes then one guy gets shot at and runs and runs... he runs out in the middle of nowhere and a car tries to run him over. Next he's being healed by his girlfriend (?) and a phone call from a rich woman in her large bubble bath, then a bunch of people sitting around laughing & eating at a restaurant then some more boring office stuff then the military chasing some people then more office stuff -- then finally the last 30 minutes we see the cheesy alien terminator dude. UGH!!! I didn't like this at all! I was hoping for a few giggles and maybe some laugh out loud fun but within 5 minutes I was hitting the fast-forward button and kept waiting to see something interesting to stop and watch but I didn't. All I saw was one long rich people borefest.1/10

Woodyanders Alcoholic struggling writer Ted Angelo (an amusing performance by the always dependable Franco Nero) discovers a UFO hidden in a cave in the Columbian jungle. Ted tries to spread the word about his discovery, but the CIA, KGB, the mob, Neo-Nazis, and even aliens do their best to suppress the news. Sound good? Well, this movie doesn't amount to much despite the loopy script by Nellow Rossati and Roberto Gianviti. Rossati's pedestrian direction not only generates precious little tension, momentum, and excitement, but also allows the erratic pace to lag throughout (the opening third in particular is pretty talky and drawn-out). Moreover, the action scenes tend to be rather tepid and the plot becomes more increasingly ludicrous as it unfolds, although there's still a nifty surprise twist pertaining to one of the main female characters at the conclusion. The cast do their best with the muddled material: Deborah Moore registers nicely as Angelo's feisty English gal pal June, Mary Stavin likewise does well as icy bitch Maureen De Havilland, Andy Sidaris movie regular Rodrigo Obregon has a cool part as vicious flunky June, William Berger is likable in a regrettably minor role as Angelo's kindly friend Alonso Kintero, and a hilariously miscast George Kennedy provides a few substantial unintentional laughs as pernicious German (!) heavy Heinrich Holzmann. The exotic locations add some much-needed flavor and a decent smattering of tasty female nudity prevents things from becoming too tedious. However, the jumbled narrative makes it often hard to tell what's going on -- and even harder to care. Overall not a bad movie; just a really blah and hence instantly forgettable one.

matalo This one´s quite original. Italians did not have enough money to make those big movies we all tend to like or at least watch. So they put cheap funny flics like this one together. There are Nazis, Extraterrestrials, Cyborgs, a Spanish gold treasure and of course there´s Franco Nero as the always drunk Soldier of Fortune, who has to pull it all off. As you can see, they didn´t let anything out. And, I think, it works. The FX are cheap but enjoyable, the pacing is fast (it has to be regarding the really dumb plot) and the acting is quite reliable (of course Franco Nero is great as ever and there´s also Hollywood veteran George Kennedy as a Nazi Villain). Director Nello Rossati did the also very enjoyable sequel Django Strikes Again before. A Movie you might check out, too.